Unit 6 Whats the score?

E X T E N S I O N A N D F U T U RE L E A R N I N G

Unit 6

YEAR 1/2

In addition to the examples given in the Points to note section,

children could go on to:
explore both pitch and rhythmic patterns
create their own performance piece in a group and perform to
the class
use both rhythmic and melodic ideas in the coloured card activity
use symbols that define more subtle changes in sound not
just louder/quieter but different timbres, eg using harder or
softer beaters
identify music performed by different groups of instruments and
bring some examples to school from home
create dances that reflect the sounds made by different
instruments
children, including older children, who learn to play instruments
could be asked to show and play their instrument to the rest of
the class
celebrate their work in this unit by performing their class
composition to other classes, the school and/or parents

Whats the score?

Exploring instruments and symbols

ABOUT THE UNIT

This unit develops childrens ability to recognise different ways sounds are made and changed and to name, and know how to play, a
variety of classroom instruments.
During this unit children explore classroom instruments and learn that instruments that make sounds in similar ways can be grouped
into families. They create symbols that represent the various ways an instrument can be played and use these to help create a
sequence of sounds. This unit should be revisited during the key stage.

When this unit is repeated, the focus will remain the same, that is,
exploring instruments and symbols, but the content and the
expectations should change. The content is changed easily through
the use of different examples, images and other stimuli that could
be used to explore instruments. Expectations are changed by
expecting more of the children to achieve the most children and
some children will have progressed further statements and by
placing greater emphasis on the extension exercises in the Points
to note section.

WH E RE T H E U N I T F I T S I N

PRIOR LEARNING

VO C A B U L A R Y

R E S O U RC E S

ENRICHMENT

It is helpful if children and teachers have:

used a range of percussion instruments

In this unit children will have an

opportunity to use words and phrases
related to:
dynamics, eg loud, quiet, louder,
quieter
pitch, eg high, low, higher, lower
timbre, eg bright, hollow
how sounds are produced, eg shake,
scrape, hit
classroom instruments, eg triangle,
maraca, guiro

Stimulus:

The class could attend concerts where the ensemble talks about
the different instruments before the music is played.
Visiting musicians could come to the class and perform a number
of contrasting pieces showing the range of sounds and technical
possibilities of their instruments and demonstrate how the
sounds are produced. New work could be created, with children
playing classroom instruments.

This unit links to the ongoing skills unit (unit 1) by reinforcing understanding of the voice as an instrument and how instruments make
and change sounds. This unit also builds on the learning developed in units 2, 4 and 5. It leads to unit 11.
This unit links to science discussing vibrations and how sound travels and recognising and naming the materials used in
each instrument.

musical instruments
symbols

Sound sources:
tuned and untuned classroom
percussion instruments

EXPECTATIONS
at the end of this unit

Ref: QCA/00/440
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) 2000

most children will:

identify and control a variety of sounds on musical instruments with confidence; perform
with others; take account of musical instructions

some children will not have made so

much progress and will:

identify ways in which sounds are made and changed; follow instructions

some children will have progressed

further and will:

suggest how different sounds can be organised; make improvements to their own work;
direct others

Unit 6 Whats the score?

INTRODUCTION: WHAT SOUNDS CAN BE MADE BY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?

about classroom instruments

Give the children the opportunity to practise handling classroom instruments correctly. Ask them to
identify the instruments by name. Discuss the playing techniques required to produce quality sounds,
eg loose wrist, bouncy beater.

identify instruments and the way their sound can be changed

The main emphasis should be on producing high-quality sounds,

that is, sounds that are made correctly so that they are pure and
controlled.
For those teachers for whom it is practical to have one half of the
class playing instruments at any one time, the following approach
may be helpful. Sit half of the class on chairs in a circle and ask the
rest to sit on the floor in front of another child. Each child then has
a partner with whom to share instruments.

E X P L O R A T I O N : W H A T S O U N D S C A N W E M A KE ?
to identify different ways
instruments make sounds

Focusing on classroom instruments, discuss how sounds are made, eg by tapping, scraping, blowing,
vibrating strings, and changed, eg using a range of beaters, varying the force of playing, tapping in
different places. [Link to unit 1: Listening]
Ask the class to sit in a circle and invite each child to take an instrument and, where relevant, a beater,
from a central pool. This should be done carefully and quietly. Name each instrument as it is selected.
Listen to each instrument in turn and discuss with the children how the sound is produced.

identify different groups of instruments

Children must learn to hold instruments quietly. When talking to

the children, first make sure they put instruments down on the floor
in front of them.
Extension activity: Ask about other instruments and how they
make sound. Talk about the voice. How does this make a sound?
Ask children or others who play instruments to demonstrate.

to identify different groups

of instruments
to understand how symbols can be
used to represent sounds

Divide the children into groups according to one, or more, of the following criteria, depending on what
instruments they have: instruments that are made from similar materials, eg wood, metal, skin;
instruments that are played in similar ways, eg tapping, shaking, scraping, blowing, striking against
each other (some instruments, eg tambourines, will fit two categories); instruments that make similar
sounds.
Make a picture label for each group of instruments.

perform together using symbols as a support

Teach the children to handle instruments carefully at all times. They

should be picked up and put down carefully. Special care should be
taken with instruments with a skin, eg tambours, drums. They
should never be tapped with anything other than hands/fingers and
approved beaters, and should never be hit very hard.
The drawing of symbols will reinforce the fact that different
instruments have similar ways of making sound (drums and
glockenspiels are both tapped) and encourage the children to use
symbols that describe how they are played rather than what is being
played.
Extension activity: Try this activity in smaller groups with one child
as the conductor.
Always use the correct names for the instruments and encourage
the children to do the same. It will take some time before all are
learned. Remember to ask the children what the instrument is called
when they select instruments for the task.

or
Choose a leader. Ask him/her to hold up the picture symbols one at a time to indicate which group of
instruments should be played. The players produce sound for as long as the symbol is displayed.
Make a strip of four or more individual picture symbols, eg shakers, tappers, scrapers (you will need
more than one of each symbol) and display them. One person, the conductor, points to them in
sequence. Vary the speed of pointing. Symbols can be repeated.
The children make their own short sequence of sounds, and then write it down using the symbols.
They can then play each others music.
to identify how sounds can
be changed

Ask the class to sit in a circle and pass around one instrument and see how many different sounds can
be made with it. Talk about louder/quieter, higher/lower, faster/slower, longer/shorter, and different
timbres, eg tinkling, rattling. Can you match the sounds made on the instruments using your voice?
Ask each child to match their playing to spoken instructions, eg play quietly, loudly, get louder. Match
the spoken instructions with a gesture, eg fingers on lips for quiet, arms moving apart for getting
louder.
Another time, focus on tempo, eg play quickly, slowly, getting faster. Add gestures.
Finally, using tuned percussion, focus on pitch, eg play high, low, getting higher.

identify how sounds can be changed

Discuss ways of improving the quality of the sounds. Ask the

children to go round the circle again, this time trying to make a
different sound this can be achieved by striking in a different
place, playing more quickly/slowly, using more or less force, shaking
instead of tapping (tambourine). Do not forget that fingers can be
used effectively as beaters on tambours, drums and tambourines.
This work has a direct link to the science scheme of work units
on sound.

to listen carefully and respond to

sounds using movement

Use classroom instruments as a stimulus for movement and dance. Use three contrasting instruments
and ask the children to make up a movement for each sound, eg maracas played quietly (small
trembling movements), Indian bells (quick single jump with hands and fingers outstretched). Play each
instrument in turn and let the class practise. Then ask the class to create sequences of movements
using the sounds as the stimulus.

identify different sounds by matching movements to given sounds

Extension activity: Use more sounds and make more subtle

changes. Invite children to lead the class.
This activity is linked to unit 1: Listening Physical response and
relates to the dance units in physical education.

Continued over

 how symbols can be used to

describe changing sounds

Make four sets of music instruction cards. Use a different colour for each element, eg blue for
dynamics, yellow for pitch, green for duration, pink for tempo. Each card then shows a different way of
producing sounds, eg loud, quiet, fast, slow, and getting louder, faster, etc. Use these cards with
different groups of players. At first hold one card up at a time. Later hold up two different cards
together, eg fast and quiet (this is much harder than fast and loud).

perform together and follow instructions which combine the musical

elements

Extension activity: Ask children to hold up or display three symbol

cards, one for each colour.
Hoffnung cartoons can be fun to use. Discuss how he described
different sounds.
Extension activity: Add more complex instructions so that the
class is constantly challenged. Always build from previous work so
that learning is reinforced first before moving on. It is better not to
move on if the prior learning is not secure.

contribute to the creation of a class composition and make their own

symbols as part of a class score
choose sounds and instruments carefully and make improvements to
their own and others work

Silence is a vital part of the performance and may be the hardest

part to achieve! Children must learn to hold their instruments
quietly when they are not required to play.
Extension activity: Working in groups, the children decide the
order for the cards. One member of the group can indicate when to
start, when to move to the next card and when to stop. They could
also indicate louder/quicker.
The score may need to be more concrete, that is, using picture
symbols related to sound effects, eg footsteps.
Encourage the class to use more abstract sounds and symbols and
to really concentrate on playing the sounds at exactly the right time.

Play this game in groups of four or five, one child being the conductor with the symbols.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: HOW CAN WE USE THESE DIFFERENT SOUNDS MADE ON CLASSROOM
INSTRUMENTS?
to compose a class composition
and make a score

Ask the children to make sounds to describe an image, eg creeping round a scary castle quiet, slow
creeping, fast running away, quiet, high mouse/bat squeaks, loud slamming doors, low, loud groans.
Choose a scenario which will include a range of timbres, dynamics, tempo and pitch.
Allocate one instrument to each sound (do not forget the voice) and the class decides the way to
produce each sound.
Put these together into a class score showing when, and how, each sound is to be played, eg a child
making the sound for a squeaking bat could draw their own mini score showing a picture of the bat,
the instrument used to depict it, and an indication of volume and pitch.

Unit 6 Whats the score?

Unit 6 Whats the score?

E X T E N S I O N A N D F U T U RE L E A R N I N G

Unit 6

YEAR 1/2

In addition to the examples given in the Points to note section,

children could go on to:
explore both pitch and rhythmic patterns
create their own performance piece in a group and perform to
the class
use both rhythmic and melodic ideas in the coloured card activity
use symbols that define more subtle changes in sound not
just louder/quieter but different timbres, eg using harder or
softer beaters
identify music performed by different groups of instruments and
bring some examples to school from home
create dances that reflect the sounds made by different
instruments
children, including older children, who learn to play instruments
could be asked to show and play their instrument to the rest of
the class
celebrate their work in this unit by performing their class
composition to other classes, the school and/or parents

Whats the score?

Exploring instruments and symbols

ABOUT THE UNIT

This unit develops childrens ability to recognise different ways sounds are made and changed and to name, and know how to play, a
variety of classroom instruments.
During this unit children explore classroom instruments and learn that instruments that make sounds in similar ways can be grouped
into families. They create symbols that represent the various ways an instrument can be played and use these to help create a
sequence of sounds. This unit should be revisited during the key stage.

When this unit is repeated, the focus will remain the same, that is,
exploring instruments and symbols, but the content and the
expectations should change. The content is changed easily through
the use of different examples, images and other stimuli that could
be used to explore instruments. Expectations are changed by
expecting more of the children to achieve the most children and
some children will have progressed further statements and by
placing greater emphasis on the extension exercises in the Points
to note section.

WH E RE T H E U N I T F I T S I N

PRIOR LEARNING

VO C A B U L A R Y

R E S O U RC E S

ENRICHMENT

It is helpful if children and teachers have:

used a range of percussion instruments

In this unit children will have an

opportunity to use words and phrases
related to:
dynamics, eg loud, quiet, louder,
quieter
pitch, eg high, low, higher, lower
timbre, eg bright, hollow
how sounds are produced, eg shake,
scrape, hit
classroom instruments, eg triangle,
maraca, guiro

Stimulus:

The class could attend concerts where the ensemble talks about
the different instruments before the music is played.
Visiting musicians could come to the class and perform a number
of contrasting pieces showing the range of sounds and technical
possibilities of their instruments and demonstrate how the
sounds are produced. New work could be created, with children
playing classroom instruments.

This unit links to the ongoing skills unit (unit 1) by reinforcing understanding of the voice as an instrument and how instruments make
and change sounds. This unit also builds on the learning developed in units 2, 4 and 5. It leads to unit 11.
This unit links to science discussing vibrations and how sound travels and recognising and naming the materials used in
each instrument.

musical instruments
symbols

Sound sources:
tuned and untuned classroom
percussion instruments

EXPECTATIONS
at the end of this unit

Ref: QCA/00/440
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) 2000

most children will:

identify and control a variety of sounds on musical instruments with confidence; perform
with others; take account of musical instructions

some children will not have made so

much progress and will:

identify ways in which sounds are made and changed; follow instructions

some children will have progressed

further and will:

suggest how different sounds can be organised; make improvements to their own work;
direct others